Law Times

STORE & SHRED Exceptional Quality at Reasonable Prices! COPY, SCAN, Call us today to fi nd out how much you can Save. TF: 1.888.781.9083 www.docudavit.com $3.55 • Vol. 21, No. 25 ocdavit_LT_June7_10.indd 1 6/4/10 9:22:44 AM Covering Ontario's legal Scene ntitled-3 1 Lawyers suffering violence alone Ottawa case sparks discussion on what profession should do to help BY MICHAEL McKIERNAN Law Times he profession must do more to help lawyers who suff er routine threats and intimidation in silence, says a criminologist who specializes in the issue. Karen Brown, a doctoral candidate at T Simon Fraser University, says the recent de- facing of Ottawa defence lawyer Lawrence Greenspon's offi ce was an anomalous case only because it received press attention and was reported to the police. According to Brown, lawyers rarely judge threats to be serious enough to go to the po- lice, instead choosing to soldier on alone. "It's something that happens all the time," she says. "Th ere's a lot of aggression and abuse, and the psychological impact of that abuse can be really detrimental. I don't think they have anyone they can report this to and they should. Th e law society should survey its members, but I don't think it's something they're looking at." Greenspon says his offi ce became a target because he represents a client accused in the fi rebombing of a Royal Bank branch back in May. At fi rst, he says, a man approached staff at the offi ce while shouting abuse at them. "Th e disturbing part was that the behaviour started escalating," Greenspon says. Th e man began leaving notes that gradu- ally became more threatening before Green- spon came in one morning late last month to fi nd the offi ce spray-painted with graf- fi ti. Within 24 hours, police had arrested a suspect. Greenspon has now added security A vandal sprayed graffiti on the offices of Greenspon Brown & Associates in Ottawa. Police charged a 53-year-old Ottawa man following the incident, according to the Ottawa Citizen. features to his street-level offi ce to prevent a repeat of the incident. Clients now have to be buzzed in by staff . But it's not the fi rst time Greenspon's choice of clients has earned him the wrath of the public. He acted for Momin Khawaja, the fi rst person charged under Parliament's anti-terrorism law, and also represented a woman accused of attempting to murder her unborn child. Recently, Th e Advocates' Society honoured him for representing un- popular causes in court. "I received some letters and e-mail which were less than fl attering," he says. "In any high-profi le case, there's a chance for that kind of thing to happen, but you have to block it out of your mind and do your job. In this case, it was diffi cult because it was aff ecting the people that work with me." In 2005, as part of her master's thesis, Brown surveyed 1,200 lawyers working in British Columbia's Lower Mainland about their experiences with threats and violence as a result of their work. She found 60 per cent of the lawyers surveyed had encoun- tered some form of threat in their careers. Only 23 per cent had sought police assis- tance as a result. For certain areas of prac- tice, the problem was even more pervasive. Brown found 73 per cent of criminal de- fence lawyers, 82 per cent of prosecutors, and 87 per cent of family law lawyers had such experiences. Since then, Brown has extended her re- search to include all provinces and territo- ries in Canada and says the data reinforces the original fi ndings. Not all lawyers are good at brushing off threats, and female lawyers are much more likely to suff er psy- chological trauma as a result, she notes. According to Brown, governments have taken the lead to reduce the danger to lawyers by, for example, making the offi ces of Crown See Toronto, page 4 and Canadian Lawyer 4Students have been bought by Carswell, a Th omson Reuters business head- quartered in Toronto. Th e sale of the legal group of publications is part of a larger deal that will see Canada Law Book, a division of Th e Cartwright Group Ltd. owned by former judge Ian Cartwright, aligned with Car- swell. Th e terms of the deal have not been disclosed. "Canada Law Book provides unparalleled content, including superior content for the labour, employment, and intellectual Thomson Reuters acquires Law Times L BY GAIL J. COHEN Law Times aw Times and its sister pub- lications Canadian Lawyer, Canadian Lawyer InHouse, property practice areas, and has an extraordinary team of author- experts who will complement the Carswell family of authors and the products and services we produce," says Don Van Meer, president of Carswell. "We are confi dent our combined strengths will provide true value to our customers and we are committed to maintain- ing and enriching the high-quality product off erings our customers have come to expect from us and from Canada Law Book." He adds the products in both businesses are seen as comple- mentary. According to a statement from Th e Cartwright Group's president Stuart Morrison, the 75-year-old Cartwright intends to consolidate his personal assets as part of his estate plan and make a signifi cant and meaningful donation to the charities of his choice. He has concluded that the sale of Canada Law Book, CLB Media Inc., and Dye & Durham will allow him to make these donations. Morrison, a 28-year veteran at CLB, says he "will be continuing on as president of Th e Cartwright Group and will assist in the transi- tion to Carswell Th omson Reuters." Law Times and the other legal periodicals, which have operated as part of CLB Media, are being hived off from the media group for the sale to Carswell. Also part of the sale are CLB Media's legal directories, including the Canadian Law List. Most of the remaining CLB publications and web sites are the subject of a formal "letter Turn Crisis into Opportunity IFAccountant.com (416) 223-5991 August 9, 2010 9/28/09 12:30:15 PM Inside This Issue 3 Client Centred 7 Bad Luck 9 Focus On Corporate/ Commercial Law Quote of the week "Contemporary art is not everyone's cup of tea. People have a particular idea about art and what appeals to them." — Philip Mohtadi, Torys llP, See Torys, page 5 A. NEUMAN ASSOCIATES INC. Forensic Accounting & Damage Quantifi cation Specialists of intent" from Annex Publish- ing & Printing Inc. If all passes due diligence, that sale should go through by the end of August. According to CLB Media vice president Niel Hiscox, Annex has been steadily acquiring new titles over the past few years, and this purchase would fi t with the company's growth strategy. Hiscox also says "there aren't any competitive titles between Annex and CLB Media." Offi ce products company Dye & Durham has been sold to Offi ce Central, with an expected closing date on the deal of Aug. 30. Also part of Th e Cartwright Group are recruiting companies RainMaker Group and Kent Le- gal, which will continue to operate as independent companies. LT Click here to subscribe today to LAW TIMES Create corporate records, produce documents and more. All at lightning speed. To find out more call or email us today 1 866.367.7648 I sales@doprocess.com ©2010 Do Process Software Ltd. Fast Company™ Untitled-1 1 www.lawtimesnews.com is a registered trademark of Do Process Software Ltd. All rights reserved. 8/4/10 9:52:35 AM Photo: Mike Carroccetto/Ottawa Citizen.

• Cover
• Client Centred
• Bad Luck
• Focus On Corporate/Commercial Law